The former Bellator
MMA welterweight champion cut through Njokuani with punches and
elbows in the first round of their
Bellator 182 headliner on Friday at the Turning Stone Resort
and Casino in Verona, New York. Koreshkov (20-2, 11-2 Bellator)
brought it to a close 4:08 into Round 1, rebounding from his
knockout loss to Douglas
Lima on Nov. 10.

Njokuani (17-5, 4-1 Bellator) attacked the Russian’s base with a
series of powerful kicks to the lead leg but could not keep him at
bay. Koreshkov knocked the onetime Tachi Palace Fights titleholder
off-balance with a spinning backfist, swarmed with punches and
uncorked a flying knee before securing the second of his two
takedowns. From there, he moved to a dominant position and let fly
with unanswered punches and elbows until referee John McCarthy had
seen enough.

In a co-main event that was contested at a catchweight of 180
pounds,
Team Quest export Fernando
Gonzalez submitted Brennan
Ward with a third-round guillotine choke. Gonzalez (27-14, 7-1
Bellator), likely in a two-rounds-to-none hole, drew the curtain 62
seconds into Round 3, as he won for the seventh time in eight
appearances.

Ward (14-6, 9-6 Bellator) built his lead on the strength of
tactical takedowns, superior output and a probing jab. He grounded
Gonzalez twice in the first and second rounds, only to see his
efforts erased by a momentary lapse in judgment. Early in the third
round, Ward left his neck exposed in a bid for another takedown.
Gonzalez caught the guillotine, wrapped the Bellator Season 9
tournament winner in full guard and prompted the tapout.

The 29-year-old Ward has lost three of his last four fights.

Meanwhile, fast-rising Team Bodyshop prospect A.J. McKee
remained unbeaten with a clear and convincing unanimous decision
over Blair
Tugman in a three-round featherweight showcase. All three
cageside judges scored it for McKee (9-0, 9-0 Bellator): 30-27,
30-26 and 30-26.

Tugman (10-7, 5-3 Bellator) was outgunned by a superior athlete 15
years his junior and offered little in the way of resistance.
McKee, 22, controlled distance with kicks to the leg, body and
head, mixed in takedowns and drew blood with a slicing elbow strike
in the third round, putting the finishing touches on his latest
conquest with heavy ground-and-pound.

The defeat snapped Tugman’s three-fight winning streak.

Elsewhere, Team Nogueira’s Bruna Ellen
did just enough across three competitive rounds to warrant a split
decision over Veta
Arteaga in a featured pairing at 125 pounds. All three cageside
judges saw it 29-28, two of them siding with Ellen (4-1, 2-1
Bellator).

Arteaga (3-2, 2-2 Bellator) was the aggressor for much of the
match. However, Ellen answered her forward progress with crisp
counters and well-timed takedowns. The 21-year-old Brazilian did
some of her best work in close quarters, where she attacked with
elbow and knee strikes from the clinch. Ellen appeared to seal
Arteaga’s fate by securing one final takedown with roughly 90
seconds left on the clock.

In preliminary action, former
World Series of Fighting champion Georgi
Karakhanyan (27-7-1) stopped Daniel
Pineda (22-13) on an upkick-induced cut 4:05 into the second
round of their featherweight scrap; Talita
Nogueira (7-0) submitted Amanda Bell
(5-5) with a rear-naked choke 3:44 into the first round of their
women’s featherweight confrontation; Henry
Corrales (14-3) captured a unanimous verdict over Noad Lahat
(11-3) in a three-round tilt at 145 pounds, drawing 30-27, 29-28
and 29-28 marks from the judges; Vadim
Nemkov (8-2) knocked out Philipe
Lins (10-3) with punches 3:03 into the first round of their
light heavyweight tussle; Ricky
Rainey (13-4) took a unanimous decision from Marc Stephens
(21-11) in a three-round welterweight affair, sweeping the cards
with matching 29-27 scores; Kate
Jackson (9-2-1) was awarded a technical knockout when Colleen
Schneider (11-8) was forced to bow out with a knee injury
between the first and second rounds of their women’s flyweight
matchup; Chris
Honeycutt (10-1) took care of Kevin Casey
(9-6-2) with punches 2:06 into the second round of their
middleweight encounter; Arlene
Blencowe (10-6) claimed a split decision -- 28-29, 30-27, 29-28
-- over Sinead
Kavanagh (4-2) in a three-round women’s featherweight clash;
Joey Davis
(2-0) dispatched a bloodied Justin
Roswell with punches 95 seconds into the first round of their
catchweight pairing at 175 pounds.